Saturday, September 29, 2012

The Original Construction Guys: Lunch Atop A Skyscraper

Brian Finke's portrait series of construction workers is the perfect glimpse into the trade as it continues to evolve in the 21st century, but when someone talks about "construction" one particular image almost always comes to mind. This picture depicts the nonchalance of a group of construction guys set against vitality of a growing urban landscape and has forever been associated with 20th century New York City. This is the 1932 photograph "Lunch atop a Skyscraper".

"Lunch atop a Skyscraper", otherwise known as "New York Construction Workers Lunching on a Crossbeam", shows a crew of construction workers sitting in a row on a girder hundreds of feet above the ground without any other kind of support. The men are talking and smoking while taking out their lunch boxes and generally not paying any special attention to the unusual setting of their lunch break. The relaxed state of the construction workers paired with the exciting backdrop of New York City hundred of feet below them has captivated viewers ever since it was first popularized.

This Petapixel article has a good rundown of the iconic Lunch Atop A Skyscraper image including the recent confusion with regards to its authorship. There's also a new documentary entitled "Men At Lunch" that concerns itself with the photograph and how it's affected popular media today. You can check out the trailer below.

8 comments:

A classic pic, it terrifies me though, how the hell can anyone work like that let alone just sit there and eat your lunch, it sends a shiver up my spine!! The documentary looks good as well, wonder if they'll show it here in the UK.